Red Letter Believers

Excuse me? Respect in the workplace disappear

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:44:00 +0000

I remember the day when I called my boss, “Mr.” And I’m not that old. But it was a sign of respect. Now, such formality is dismissed, “Mr. Williams is my dad, just call me ‘Roy.’”

So, he becomes Roy and I lose a little piece of the wall of respect that a boss should receive.

When he gives me direction, I say, “yes, sir.” It’s polite. It’s respectful. Roy doesn’t like that either. “This isn’t the military.”

So the work atmosphere is downright chummy. We are no longer a boss and a subordinate. We are two equal cogs in the machine. We are two guys who roll up their sleeves to get it done. We are two soldiers in the same foxhole. The only difference between us is that he gets paid more than I do because he's responsible for the operation. Roy's good for that.

Is this a good thing?

This lack of a wall of respect between the manager and the worker has fallen in many other ways as well. Let's look at outside common interests. Called fraternization in the military, it has actually morphed in to team building and comraderie in today's world. But I don't think it's healthy for a boss shouldn’t socialize with his employees. It sets a bad precedent. It encourages wagging tongues. It feeds gossip. It suggests the boss is playing favorites. It supposed to build teamwork. But it can build resentment.

What do you think about respect in the workplace? Are you old school? Or are you a modern, casual worker. Why? Leave your comment here.

More than a J.O.B.

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000

The venerable and wise Chuck Colson has a great column, called "More than a Job." He says this:

"These days, when many jobs are becoming iffy or non-existent, Americans are very sensitive to the importance of having and keeping a job, no matter what. But if all we see in our job is a way of making a living, and perhaps finding a small measure of satisfaction, we’ve missed the main point of how our job fits into the total scheme of the work we’ve been given to do. Jobs are important – more than we may at first recognize.

Because where do those skills come from? And the resources to bend those skills toward goods and services, and the wherewithal to pay for those skills thus applied? Where does the fluid and flow of the economy come from, but from the hand of God?

Every job is a gift of God."

Colson's take is that a job is just more than something we should enjoy. A job is more than just a means to put a roof over our head.

But calling your work a "Gift" might be a stretch. Or is it? Comment here.

Read the whole article here.

Thanks to Judy for the suggestion for this post.

He didn't want to go to work, so he stabbed himself

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

A 27-year-old Denver man employed at a Blockbuster video store, was skateboarding off- duty in his uniform when he ripped the issued khaki pants.

Rather than explain to the boss what had happened, he hatched a bizzare scheme. He took a knife, stabbed himself in the leg and showed up at work claiming to have just been attacked by three Hispanic males. He had a deep stab wound in one leg and several other minor cuts on his face and stomache

The police were called and the man perpetuated the lie. He showed his wounds and provided descriptions. A five-county alert was issued and cops began to hunt for the assailants.

But the surveillance video from where the attack supposedly occured show the man alone without any attackers, ambling along without a limp or other injuries.

The gig was up.

I once had an employee call in because he couldnt get to work, due to snow. I had some company business that morning and I knew where he lived. Boldly, I drove right up to his front door through the massive accumulations of two or three inches of snow. I knocked on his door and asked if he needed a ride in.
Surprised.
Sheepish.
Caught.

Have you ever had a lie get out of hand? Have you ever told a story, and then had to tell another to get your way out of the first one? Have you ever deceived your boss?

Comment here.

How the sausage gets made

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:30:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Every company tries to put it's best face forward. The counters are clean. The floors gleam with reflective wax. The lights are positioned to reflect the bright surfaces.
The people at the front are schooled and trained in customer service. "Yes, no, please and thank you, sir. Did you find everything you need and may I help you buy something else."

A light bulb burned out on the front sign is a call for immediate maintenance, but a broken employee toilet takes days.

As consumers, we buy goods, products and services based on their value and often, their presentation. The nicely packaged, and more expensive items, are at eye level. The cheap brand made from the same ingredient hugs the floor.

Rarely do we ask how the sausage gets made. We don't know how the product got to the store. We cannot imagine what happens behind the scenes, in the corporate office, in the sweat shop, in the employee breakroom. We don't know.

Our world runs on image. But scratch the surface and you'll find reality - you'll find human emotion and pain. You'll find struggling men and women. You'll find how the sausage is made.

As Red Letter Believers, we have an obligation to value what God values. And he values honesty and integrity. He values hard work. He values us.

You know how your product or service is made -- and it's your responsiblity to live up to your High Calling -- for the Glory of God.

Ephesians 6:7-9 Says this, "Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free. " (Courtesy, The Message)

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If you can't live your faith, don't talk about it

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:12:00 +0000

A reader recently wrote this:
"I recently served a client that was very vocal with his Christian faith. For business reasons not related to my performance, he abruptly terminated my contract outside the terms of our written agreement. He did not have the courage or courtesy to notify me directly--even by voice mail or
E-Mail. Instead, he told a rival co-worker who leveraged this information to undermine and damage my reputation with my consulting firm.

"Normally, I could write this off as 'just business,' but his 'red letter' words set higher expectations of his behavior and deepened the injury inflicted. Although the experience gave me a deeper understanding , I
would have preferred not to know he was a fellow believer. If you cannot
act ethically or treat people with dignity, please just
blend-in!"

Like you, I have been around "Christians" who were very vocal about their faith, but whose actions didn't back up their proclamation. I would cringe and duck and hope that the God-talk doesnt occur around me. I didn't want to be guilty by association.

Do you go to school or work with proclaiming Christians who you just wish would keep quiet?

Final Harvest

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Thanks to High Calling Blogs, who published "The Final Harvest," from a previous Red Letter Believers post.

Here's an excerpt:

"I’ve been at this Christian walk for years — no, decades. And like these green tomatoes, I droop in immaturity. I’m not ready for Christ to come. I’m not ready to go home. I still need a few more days — or weeks — or years....will I be ready?"

Read the rest of the post here....

Lost in the pile of leaves

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

"We spend most of our time and energy in a kind of horizontal thinking. We move along the surface of things, but there are times when we stop. We sit still. We lose ourselves in a pile of leaves or its memory. We listen and breezes from a whole other world begin to whisper."
-- James Carroll

Fall is an emotional time of year.

Walk along a familiar path and it's transformed by the sight and smell of change.

There is the sweet aroma of fallen leaves in those desperate days between green and brown. Adorned in a hue of orange and red and gold, the trees reluctantly drop and in their nakedness they sadly stare down at the ground.

Drifting in slow-motion, the leaves, one-by-one, cascade to the ground. They gather together, stacked in the unity of their fate, swept by the midnight breezes.

In my yard, I am forever raking the leaves into piles. I ponder the question of what to do. To bag? To recycle? To let the wind blow them away?

My very life is often lost in the pile of leaves.

I was once full of life, green and fluttering in the wind. I soaked up the rains and basked in the sun. I was part of something beautiful and good and alive. And here I am, a sad reminder of things that were. My only accomplishment is yesterday. My only destiny a dark bag sitting on the curb.

The allegories of the Creator in Spring are abundant -- new life, new hope, new direction. But God in the Fall seems distant.

Then I hear a voice in the high winds

"You are not alone. I will never leave you, nor forsake you. You are my beloved. Abide in me and I'll abide in you."

And suddenly I am inexplicably driven. An urge comes from the deepest passion of my soul. I see the pile of leaves and with four quick steps I leap into the air, all my good sense abandoned.

I am lost to the Savior.

And on this day, I am found.

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Bury Your Past, part 2. "Can't get to the other side."

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:21:00 +0000

There was an experiment done with the Great Northern Pike where the fish was placed into a tank with its favorite food, minnows. However, a glass divider was inserted into the tank between the Pike and the minnows. Every time the Pike went for the minnows, he bumped his nose into this glass divider.

Convinced that the minnows were forever beyond reach, he gave up. When the divider was finally removed, the Great Northern Pike never even ventured into the minnow’s territory.

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes, we are like that Pike. We’ve been convinced that we could never break free from the patterns of defeat and failure that have bound us. Our noses are out of joint, our heads are banged and our hearts are broken. Yet somehow, God gives us the reserve to press on for yet one more try. He gives us resolve and confidence.

Ephesians 2:1-4 talks about living a new life: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ.”

What do you think about "the past"? Comment here.

Bury your past, Part 1

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:05:00 +0000

Image by h.koppdelaney via Flickr

Technology blazes forward in many fashions, but none as remarkable as the computer chip. These chips perform faster and more accurately than ever. Yet, they pale in comparison to the human memory. Like a recurring movie, I can recall many things. Both the good times and the bad times receive equal play in the microprocessor of my brain..

Sadly, for many of us, the most poignant memories are of the slights we have received. We remember the snubs of friends, the insults of enemies, the slights by family. I still recall public humiliations from events on the school bus 30 years ago. Things that should have been erased from my memory bank long ago still crop up in my weakest moment.

I feel like a dog, who continually returns to the soft spot in the back yard and furtively digs up a bone buried long ago. Like an old friend, I return to hurts from yesterday.

Instead of living in the Past, I need to bury the past.

The American Dream

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:47:00 +0000

Driving to work each day is a ritual familiar to most everyone. According to the Federal Highway Administration, more than 113 million Americans make their daily drive all alone. That’s plenty of time think.

The morning commute might be the most difficult time for those of us who struggle with the daily grind. There is something about inching to work in the stop and go traffic that heightens our sense of foreboding. We grip the wheel harder as we pull up to the office, knuckles white, stomach in knots, and the anxiety about the day has its hold on us before we even clock in.

So many of us are suffering daily in our work, feeling the persistent and unforgiving discomfort that gnaws at our attitudes and sucks the joy from our lives. We put up with the pain as best we can but it isn’t long before we are peering into our neighbor’s workplace admiring the green grass.

The fantasy about tossing it all and running for the door is very real to many of us.

You wake up in a square house and drive in a square car to work in a square cubicle. You stare at a square screen for hours on end only to drive your square car back to your square home. After your third square meal you plop down in front of a large square television before lying your head down on your square bed.

No wonder you feel boxed in. No wonder you feel trapped. No wonder you feel like it doesn’t make any difference what you do. For some, it’s even a prison.

Welcome to the American dream.

The curse of work

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:21:00 +0000

It was Greek thought that first called into question the merits of hard work, seeing manual labor as a curse. This has pervaded many cultures and may now be breaking into our own.

Rather than satisfying our deepest need to be productive, work too often is simply a way to obtain a paycheck. No doubt, technology denigrates the work ethic. We have created mechanical solutions for nearly every task and the sweat of the brow is now replaced by the whir of a machine or the silent calculations of a computer.

"Work smarter, not harder" is a credo of nearly every corporation. Every slacker who wants to wiggle out of work loves this saying. But Ecclesiates tells us "It is good and proper for a man to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun ... to accept his lot and be happy in his work -- this is a gift of God"

God sees our labors and he is pleased. He respects those that work and so should we. Martin Luther wrote that "the works of monks and priests in God's sight are in no way whatever superior to the works of a farmer laboring in the field or a of a woman working in her home." The reformer went on to say that "Man does not live for himself alone .. but he lives also for all men on earth."

Work helps our fellow man. We all wish we could do more for other people. But performing our best in our labors is the highest compliment we can provide for others. When we strive for excellence, we do so for God and we do so for those we serve.

Three men worked on a large building project. One was asked, "What are you doing?" "I'm mixing mortar," he said. The second man said, "I'm helping put up this great stone wall." When the third man was asked, he replied, "I'm building a cathedral to the glory of God."

The Bible tells us that "Whatever we do in word or deed, we should do as unto the Lord."

So here's a cheer ... for work!

On ambition

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:23:00 +0000

"Ambition often puts men upon doing the meanest offices; so climbing is performed in the same posture with creeping."

-- Jonathan Swift, Miscellanies, 1711

------------------------

Stunts for Jesus

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:33:00 +0000

What will it take to break out -- to be all that God has called me to be?

Will it mean a change in profession, even mission work or full-time ministry? How about some great ideas or leadership or "stunts for Jesus?"

Will it require intensive study, deep mediation, or lessons in theology?

The answer is much, much simpler.

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place if before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."
—Romans 12:1, The Message

The deep Christian walk is less about a life of great deeds, rather it is more about a thousand little acts of obedience, lived out in your everyday, ordinary life.

And that starts by ingesting the Red Letters of Christ, living out in your school, your home, your work and your neighborhood.

One ...Moment....At a time.

Comment here.

Faking my way through life

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:25:00 +0000

There it is again. It hits you in the middle of the day. That feeling that you don't belong. That undeniable sensation that this a play -- and you are just a bit actor.

They might find me out. That I am an imposter.

In our heart of hearts, we do not want to be left alone, without a God. We don't the crowds to see that we have been faking this confidence our entire lives.

Having looked everywhere else for meaning, the supernatural world is the only venue left. I can take the mask off.

For the millions who continue to wander around the abyss, cut from any sense of meaning, we can only pity and pray for them. They have an answer for their loneliness. Yet, because of their hard hearts, they choose isolation over God

Martin Luther simply stated “Bless us, O. Lord, yea, even curse us — but please be not silent.”

We desperately need the strength of an infinite God who knows us better than we know ourselves.

What will you gain?

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:06:00 +0000

Have you ever stood in front of the mirror - and you look into your eyes and you see the hollowness. You see the emptiness. You see deep into your heart -- into the deepest of all your insecurities and fears. The razor is frozen in your hand. The eyeliner pen hovers above your brow. You cannot ever let anyone else see what you see.

"Is this all?"

You've been working hard at your job to get ahead. Long hours. Dedication. Loyalty. And maybe you get a placque that gets dusty and one day you'll hold and wonder what it was for in the first place.

You might get ahead, but fall behind. You might gain some recognition, but is it worth it to lose something much deeper?

"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matt 16:26
Who are you ... really.
What have you given up -- and what have you gained? Comment here.

Alone in a crowd

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:42:00 +0000

We are a lonely people.

While money buys automobiles, homes, and clothes it ultimately buys isolation.

If we were without this wealth, we would once again learn interdependence on each other. We would learn the meaning of borrowing a cup of sugar, of helping a neighbor out of a predicament, of community.

This isolation has lead to problems untold. We have built fences around our castles, avoiding any neighborly contact with the push of a garage door opener. We enter these castles eating quick heat dinners and hovering over computer screens with no connection to our fellow man.

Remember the Iraqi man who hid 22 years in a wall that he built inside his home, running from Saddam Hussein’s death squads? But he is like so many of us. Rather than face the world, dangerous and frightening it may be, we choose to live in our own prisons. The light of day passes with nary a nod of acknowledgement, for we are captives of the dark.

How many men have run from relationships, a superhero complex keeping them from intimacy? How many women have built up a legion of acquaintances and yet avoiding true friendship?

Many of us try to fill the hollow ache inside with activity, filling our waking moments with parties and leisure and travel. But one look in the mirror reflects the sadness.

Reaching out to fill the holes in our souls, we find nothing. So we doubt our self worth, pushing ourselves away from others and burrowing in a world that no one can understand.

Combating loneliness cannot be overcome with companionship; otherwise a dog would fit the bill. Walking down a busy city street can be among the loneliest activities if you don’t know anyone.

Proverbs 18.10 says, “A man of many companions will come to ruin.” But it goes on to say that “there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”

The first friend you should have is God Himself.

He will listen. He will care. He will not leave you alone.

Eleanor Rigby, your coworker, and you

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Materialism is such a false lover. It leaves us empty and cold.

Still, we buy and we charge and we consume. And in the end we swallow the bitter pill of rejection. Our toys stand lifeless, unable to meet out deepest needs.

Loneliness transcends all classes of people. I've lived in one of the most affluent communities in the nation. Parties. Purchases. Plans. These people substituted busyness for importance. And at night, like the rest of us, they still look in the mirror and the hollowness mocks them.

Something deep within our souls cries out and a void beckons to be filled.

We fill the void with casual relationships. We run from pleasure to pleasure, looking for ‘soul mates’ and acquaintances. Rarely do we find a true friend that we can cry with or share our deep needs. Those that do allow a sliver of light quickly shut the door when we ‘get personal.’

Our lack of intimacy causes us to try to fill the void with work and pursuits. We work long hours for recognition that never comes. . We drop in our beds exhausted — and lonely.

The Beatles sang the song “Eleanor Rigby” a generation ago. She was a simple woman who walked the streets in complete isolation, a mere extra in the movie of life. 39 years later “Eleanor” is more than a simple analogy, she has morphed into a picture of modern society. The song was insightful into human nature, yet provided no solutions.

“Where do they all belong?”

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Are you lonely?

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:06:00 +0000

Image by Michelle Brea via Flickr

We are a lonely people. Even in a crowded room of people we have all heard the cry and ache of our souls. It is pervasive and deep as our whole society is entangled in it’s grip.

Just listen to the frivolous talk and hollow laughter.

Thomas Wolfe said that “loneliness is and always has been the central and inevitable experience of every man.” It surrounds our thoughts. Loneliness robs our passion. It strangles our hearts.

Amazingly, in a world of endless entertainment, active lives and bustling streets that men and women are still be isolated, empty and alone. I put the cause directly in lap of modernism, the god of this age. Modernism teaches us that the material world is the end of all things. This ideal maintains that the scientific method, the world that is measured and observed and touched, is all that ever was and that there will ever be.

Is this all? Is there really nothing else out there?

From this seed has sprouted the weed of thought that technology can solve all our ills. If technolgy is indeed our king, then humankind is it’s servant. Secular society does all it can to silence the supernatural.

The only substitute is an eerie quiet as we are alone with our empty heartbeats. Left with nothing but machines and computers and inventions, we are isolated and empty creatures. While evenings were once filled with visiting family and friends, they are now filled with parents and their children tapping out directions in front of computer screens, exchanging emails and chatting with strangers.

Are you lonely? Comment here.

Work would be great -- except for the people

noreply@blogger.com (David Rupert) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Our friends over at “Think Christian” have a fascinating post on work and how it molds the way we view humanity at large. Nathan, the author, suggests that “that our line of work…shapes our view of human nature.”

For example:

A judge might see all humans as prone to wrong-doing.
Someone working in a nursery section of a hardware store might see humans as loving and caring
A counselor might see humans as needy
A social worker might see people as manipulative.

This really got us thinking here. Does our job change our outlook? Are we more cynical towards God’s creation because of the influence of our work? Are we more compassionate? More judgemental?

How about your job? Does it allow you to see men and women as God sees them?

Go to Think Christian and comment there, and then feel free to comment here.

Tomatoes, the first frost, and the Christian walk

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Image by vinduhl via Flickr

The bite of fall is in the air. It snuck in while we weren't watching.
Suddenly the leaves in the trees are slightly off-color, the mornings are a little crisper, and the evenings a little darker.

It won't be long, now.

And then there's the tomatoes. They hang in bunches in the back yard. Their crop has been full of promise. Thick and rich with round living ornaments, the plants bow deeply, kissing the ground with heaviness.

There is nothing like a smell of a tomato plant, rushing to the end of the season.

But it's too soon.

The fruit (or is it a vegetable?) isn't ready. In fact, the pale green produce seems to be a long ways from maturity. Will they beat the coming frost?

I have confidence that I'll have harvest. I'll check the forecast to see that the big chill is coming. And I'll walk outside, expecting green, and instead be surprised by the deep red of fullness.

It's time.

I've been at this Christian walk for years -- no, decades. And like these green tomatoes, I droop in immaturity. I'm not ready for Christ to come. I'm not ready to go home. I still need a few more days -- or weeks -- or years.

While I wait for the day of His appearing to come, I need some maturity. I just want to be ready.
How about you? Comment here.

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Thanks to my friend Wim for inspiration for this! May your crop be full!

The break out

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 22:50:00 +0000

Do you feel trapped?

At work, are you chained to a desk you despise, doing work you dislike, working for a boss who doesn't care? Likely, the rest of your life is simliarly imprisoned...and you are serving concurrent sentences. If you are unsettled at work, you are probably unsettled outside of work. You may feel trapped in your marriage, in your home, or in your church.

You can't get out.

Perhaps you have tried to make your escape by quitting your job, looking to break a relationship or shopping for a new church. If you have tried making a change, you probably found yourself right back where you were, serving the same dismal sentence in a new prison cell.

When you think about it, our entire world is a holding cell. Sure, the sky is without ceilings and we can move about the environment freely to do as we please, but that freedom we perceive is only a short-term release.

It doesn’t take us long to be reminded of our ongoing sentence as we engage the fallen world around us and we live among the false gods and idols that enslave our follow man. Decay engulfs every living creature. Addictions track us like wanted men and women. Our relationships are in turmoil.

There is no freedom here.

The reminders weigh us down like iron shackles or a yellow ankle bracelet. Like a clock ticking in an otherwise silent room, they tell us that time is marching, that the permanent sentence will one day be handed down.

But followers of Christ have a commutation, a repreive from our sentence.

"Behold, I have come to give you life -- and life abundantly." Jesus has secured our freedom and allowed us to experience freedom unlike anyone else.

Think about it. Are you really trapped?

Tell us what you think here.

Labor day reflections

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:06:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Talk to almost any working person and they'll tell you that Labor Day is the bookend to summer -- a sad closure to an already too-short summer. The day may be filled with family, travel or BBQs. It almost always entails a holiday, a day off from work -- which seems ironic that we would rest in honor of labor.

But thats exactly the point. Congress established the day in honor of the working man and woman and the strides that we have made in labor. Thanks in part to unions, we no longer have to work under slavish, unsafe conditions. In this country our work is usually reasonable, compensated and protected from danger. We have it good.

Across the world, labor isn't always so pretty. In some countries, children are forced into the fields or factorys at an early age. Pretty girls are taken advantage of by wealthy men. Long hours with little pay is a norm in many places. Under the harshest of conditions, laborers work in squaller for a few tokens of compensation.

Labor is holy --- and yes, it is supposed to be difficult at times. The worker is charged with honesty and diligence and godliness. On the other hand is the law of justice -- an employer cannot be harsh or cruel and must treat his employees with respect.

Labor, when it's done under God's law, is a beautiful thing. From our hands, we can turn heaven's bounty into man's sustenance.

So today, may your rest be restorative. And tomorrow, may your work be a sweet aroma.

What are you chasing?

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:44:00 +0000

Some dogs chase cars. Some dogs chase bikes. Some dogs chase other dogs.Some dogs will chase after anything you throw at them. A stick, a frisbee, a can. Eager they are.

Then you have the dogs that chase nothing. They put on a show to chase every passing car or person, but quickly give up pursuit. Apparently its a game to chase for the sake of the chase and nothing else. There's no reason or purpose to their pursuit.

Even as there is a canine chase, there is a human chase -- and for most of us, it too is meaningless. When one pursuit fails, we simply go on to the next. Sometimes the chase ends in failure, but that doesn't dissuade us.

Even when the chase ends in success and we catch the object of our desire, we quickly tire of the prize and turn our energy to the next target – the next purchase, the next sale, the next deal, the next next.

So, what are you chasing? Is there something meaningful awaiting you at the end of the chase, something deeply satisfying? Most likely not, unless you are chasing after God.

This pursuit is really the only one worth it. God is the only thing that can ultimately be caught. Everything else -- power, possessions, pleasure -- has a way of trickling out of your hands.

The chase for God can never stop, because you feel you have found Him, you will want to stop. But if you rest too long, He will begin to slip away from your grasp because you stopped. Our faith isn't an event -- its a lifetime of understanding and exploration of His nature.

But while we are chasing, a funny thing happens -- He is right there with us even though we are seeking Him.

Jesus said "knock and the door will open." The original language says "keep on knocking." It doesn't stop.

So let the chase begin!

"All of this is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

Ecclessiastes

Love Your Enemies -- all of them

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:03:00 +0000

“But I tell you, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you…”
Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

Sometimes I read this passage from the Sermon on the Mount and I think, “Has Jesus met some of the people I work with?” "Has he met my brother, my neighbor or any of the other characters in my life?"

This is perhaps the hardest command to follow.

Jesus taught us and expects us to pray for our attackers, to lift up our critics and to love our enemies – because as Christians we’re supposed to be different, completely transformed and made new by Jesus’ saving grace.

Throughout the Passion, Jesus Christ prayed for the forgiveness of his enemies “for they know not what they do.” If Jesus could pray for his murderers as He was saving mankind from its sinful existence and marching towards his death on Golgotha, then what can we do to pray for the foes we face in our daily lives?

Why are we surprised when worldly people act worldly?

What do you think?

Does compassion have limits?

redletterbelievers@gmail.com (Red Letter Believers) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:03:00 +0000

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"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things". -- Mark 6:34

You’ve seen the signs:

“Veteran. Anything helps”
“Out of work. God Bless”
“Hungry and cold. Thank you.

You know the people. Friends, family, neighbors or coworkers, who have had a bad run of luck. Medical bills. Cars that never run. Jobs that never seem to last. Nothing goes their way …ever.

You also know the Scriptures, Jesus was moved by the poor, by the defenseless, the hopeless.

They are everywhere. They aren’t just sleeping in the parks or panhandling on the overpass. They might just be in the cubicle next to you – a person so racked by the challenges of the day that they are just one day from giving up.

You may have given of yourself in the past, and then pulled back, frustrated by the lack of initiative or progress or gratefulness. You may be convinced that care is for the government or the state or the church. Maybe there is someone else you hope will step in.

Does compassion have limits? You may be the one who needs a touch. You may be burned out. Is it okay to quit caring?

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